yen dcelal tala t yd (ol a ie for Brazilians /wglif pra,nansi'erfon for bra'zilionz/ The Sounds of American English© 2006 Sonia Godoy, Cris Gontow e Marcello Marcelino Assistente editorial Gabriela Canato Capa ¢ projeto grafico Paula Astiz Editoracao eletronica Priscila Aricia Neto / Paula Astiz Design Tlustragdes Rafael Dourado CD — Locutores Cory Willis Melody Grissom Renata Steuer Marcello Marcelino Dads Imernacionis de Cotaoagto na Publicasto (CIP) (Cinrara Brasilia do Livo, SP, Besih Godoy, Sons English pronunciation for brziians = the sounds of american English = Sonia Godoy, Cris Gort, Marcello Mireeline, — Sio Paulo < Disa, 2006 ISBN 978-85-89555-70.6 1. Inglés — Esta eensina— Brsiios 2. ngs —Pronincia por esvangeite 3 Ings Us|. Goaton, Cis I. Marcelo, Marcel Tin, 05.5795 coos fndces pare eaogn semi: 1, Prominci : Ings para resiers: Ling aplcads 428 2: Inglés para baslios: Lngilsticaepicada : Pronincia 28 Oren. Todos os direitos reservados em nome de: Bantim, Canato e Guazzelli Editora Ltda. Al. Mamoré, 911, sala 107, Alphaville 6454-040, Barueri, SP Tel/Fax: (11) 4195-2811 Visite nosso site: www.disaleditora.com.br Vendas: Televendas: (11) 3226-3111 Fax gratuito: 0800 7707 105/106 E-mail para pedidos: comercialdisal @disal.com.br Nenhuma parte desta publicagao pode ser reproduzida, arquivada nem transmitida de nenhu- ma forma ou meio sem permissdo expressa e escrita da Editora.Table of Contents Foreword by H. Douglas Brown Preface To the teacher To the independent learner: How to use this book PartA Intro Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 PartB Intro, Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 Unit 8 Unit 9 — Pronouncing a Foreign Language — Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning — English x Portuguese — Developing Independence: Using a Dictionary to Check Pronunciation — The Phonetic Alphabet — Homophones and Homographs — Consonants — The Organs of Speech and the English Consonants — /8/ and /3/ — Final Nasals: /m/, /n/ and /y/ — ff and /hf = Final // — Stops: /p/ and /b/, /t/ and /d/, /k/ and /g/ = ISf and Ii$/, /3/ and /d3/, /f/ and /v/ ~ /sfand /zf — Semi-vowels /w/ and /y/ — -sendings Unit 10 — -ed endings PartC Intro Unit 7 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 — Vowels (Vowel Chart) — The Schwa Sound and the Unstressed Syllable — Aid and h/ — feland sel — fad and fof — fal and fof = /a/ and /sr/ — fei/ and fou/ = fats, /av/ and /oif Glossary of Technical Terms Answer Key and Audio Scripts 7 25 29 33 41 47 51 61 73 83 91 103 117 127 135 145 161 167 WT 187 195 203 215 227 239 247Foreword Dr. H. Douglas Brown, Ph.D. — Professor of English, San Francisco State University It gives me great pleasure to offer this foreword to English Pronunciation for Brazilians. I have known the lead author, Sonia Godoy, since her student days at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she was a student in the Master of Arts program and I was her professor. I’m gratified to see that my own encouragement and Sonia’s creativity have, with her co-authors Cris Gontow and Marcello Marcelino, given birth to this practical manual for students of English in Brazil. I’m very proud to see this accomplishment! There are a number of characteristics of this book that I’m pleased to see. First, the book is for Brazilians and speaks directly to predictable phonological issues for Brazilian learners. There are many (maybe too many?) books in print that provide generic instruction in oral communication, not necessarily directed to any one group of native speakers. This book is appropriately targeted and speaks directly to its specified audience. Second, the book is highly practical. Directions are easy to follow; exercises are clearly spelled out and are of interest and relevance to students. The material is simple and direct, and therefore does not risk going “over the heads” of students. And there is an ample amount of practice. In an era when some pedagogical trends incorrectly play down the importance of practice, this book stands out in its emphasis on practice for the psychomotor process of improving pronunciation. Third, the material is student-centered and student-friendly. It forces students to take responsibility for their own learning with appropriate pair and group work activity — all of which is supported by an audio component that gives students an opportunity to hear models. The authors encourage students to self-monitor, which is a key strategic approach to the acquisition of phonological accuracy. And I like the student-friendly, humorous approach that enlivens what might otherwise be tedious practice. Finally, I applaud the authors for their pedagogical approach to phonological acquisition. I have often used the analogy of “zooming in” as a strategy for all aspects of language learning — the occasional need to take a very close look at a language form. The authors effectively guide students to view broader contexts, to have a “close up” look, and to zoom in on details. Congratulations to Sonia, Cris, and Marcello for an excellent achievement! 5Preface Welcome to English Pronunciation for Brazilians — The Sounds of American English. Unlike most books in the area, this pronunciation text does not aim at a worldwide market. It was especially designed for speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, and it relies on the authors’ vast experience in teaching in Brazil to address all the areas of difficulty pertaining to this particular language group. Throughout the book, English and Portuguese are contrasted, guiding the students in transferring pronunciation habits. The body of the text focuses on the sounds of American English (vowels and consonants), and this variety was chosen as it is most commonly the one Brazilian students are interested in learning. This book was written for intermediate to advanced learners and although the focus is on general English, the abilities here acquired can easily be transferred to other settings to suit students’ academic and/or professional needs. This textbook can be used with a variety of learning formats: large groups, small groups, private teaching and independent learning. As discussed further in the book, Brazilians in general have good pronunciation when learning a foreign language. However, according to our personality or characteristics, we want to go beyond intelligibility, as most people want to sound as native-like as possible. This book provides enough practice in foreign accent reduction, introducing students to the pronunciation of English in North America as it is spoken by educated native speakers in fluent speech. Students are led to discover the principles of articulatory phonetics through experimenting with their own vocal tract. Theory is introduced and reinforced by numerous practice exercises working up from individual sounds and phrases to dialogs, meaningful guided practice and contextualized reading passages. A lot of the activities come in the form of games and fun activities. The idea is to ensure the carryover of pronunciation skills into real communication. Students will improve their ability to communicate in English, increasing substantially their listening comprehension skills. The student-centered approach encourages peer and especially self- monitoring, an important element for self-improvement. The teacher will be a facilitator, encouraging learners to be active participants in changing their 7Preface pronunciation habits. Phonetic symbols are taught in a light and fun fashion to enable students to check pronunciation in the dictionary, thus promoting learner’s independence. The symbols are also important in demonstrating the difference between sounds and letters. Common spelling patterns are included, always having Brazilian Portuguese differences and interference in mind. Humor, which is much in accordance with the personality of Brazilians in general, is a recurrent element that permeates the whole book. We believe that the use of humor helps students retain the sounds because they will tend to remember the tips and the conversations better. Have fun! We know we did while writing this! Sonia, Cris and MarcelloTo the teacher This textbook can be used with a variety of learning formats: large groups, small groups, private teaching and independent learning. The book provides a wide variety of activity types to stimulate students’ interest and enjoyment in relation to pronunciation. There are a lot of interactive activities that you can adapt according to your needs. Even though the authors believe the sequence of chapters presented in the book would work efficiently with most groups, you might want to follow a different sequence. For example, you might want to start with the vowels instead of the consonants. Just bear in mind that the authors had a progression in mind when they wrote the book, so follow the order suggested as much as possible. High frequency vocabulary for intermediate to advanced students was used throughout the book, so refrain from spending class time explaining vocabulary. Students should be encouraged to look up unknown words in the dictionary if they have any doubts. Remember that individuals vary a great deal in relation to their language abilities, especially pronunciation, and defining just what expectation your students have toward this course may help you guide them more successfully. A mismatch between teacher’s goals and learners’ expectations may generate a great deal of strain on the part of students, and pronunciation is supposed to be fun!To the independent learner If you are a student planning to work on your own, we understand that you have intermediate to advanced level of English. Even though the book is organized in chapters, you don’t have to follow them in exactly that order. You may choose to start with “that sound you have always felt unsure of.” Just bear in mind that the authors had a progression in mind when they wrote the book, so we recommend that you follow the order suggested as much as possible. If you are taking a regular English course and decide to study pronunciation on your own in order to improve your English, talk to your teacher and ask for suggestions on which sounds you need to work more intensively. This should get you started all right! One last word. Remember you are responsible for your own learning. Especially when dealing with pronunciation, it is very important that you constantly monitor yourself. We have taken every possible opportunity to remind you of that in the textbook, but the commitment has to come from you. Do the exercises over and over until you feel satisfied. You will see that your effort will pay off! a) e This Book We believe that textbooks should be a safe haven for students to learn, where they can rely ona certain structure to guide them through their learning process. At the same time, we think that predictability, though comforting, can become boring at times. So we have tried, as much as possible, to follow a certain pattern within the units, but always trying to add an element of surprise, be it the humor with which some points are addressed or the variety of activities. ‘We have made the navigation in the book as simple as possible. The titles of the sessions are color coded to help identify when there is a change in the focus of the unit. A CD icon [@ ] will show which material is recorded, anda pencil icon [‘\] will indicate the exercises that require writing. The answers can be found in the Answer Key at the end of the book. ulTo the independent learner Every unit in the book will have the following sections. Here are some tips on how to go about them. Section Audio Objective ‘Usual Procedure Think About it | No * To raise awareness * Discuss the questions of the differences with classmates. between English and * Pronounce the words Portuguese sounds. as clearly as possible. *To discuss what you * Don't check the know about pronunciation | Answer Key yet. and spelling rules. *To reflect on how you pronounce some troublesome words. Close Up Sometimes | * To describe the * Go over this session | articulation of sounds carefully. There's in American English. important information * To contrast the there that shouldn’t pronunciation of English be skipped. and Portuguese sounds * Check the meaning | of the unknown technical words in | the glossary at the end of the book. Zoom In Yes *To practice the target * Repeat the cues after sounds in words, the model. phrases and sentences + Record your voice on a through repetition. separate tape recorder if possible. Play back the recording and monitor yourself. Get Your ‘Yes * To provide intensive * Listen to the whole | Tongue practice of the articulation | activity and do it | | Around It of sounds through different mentally first. techniques. * Listen again and do the * To train your articulatory activity out loud. muscles enough so they + Repeat as many times will be able to perform as necessary until you correctly when needed. are satisfied with | your performance. 12To the independent learner In Context | Yes «To provide penative + Listen to the whole | of the target sounds passage first. | | in paragraphs. + Use the pause button | to allow yourself enough time for repetition. * Close the book. Use the paragraph as a dictation exercise. Replay the paragraph sentence by sentence using the pause button. Conversation | Yes. + To provide practice + Listen to the whole | of the target sounds passage first. in words in dialogs. + Use the pause button to allow yourself enough time for repetition. + Close the book and try to repeat sentence by sentence using the | pause button. | Stay Tuned Yes + To work on sound + Listen to the recording discrimination. and do the task provided. Wrap Up No + To check your + Go back to Think About It own progress, and make sure you fully + To ensure you understand the answers have understood the to the questions. Look at concepts addressed the Answer Key to check by the unit, your answers. If you still have doubts, go over the unit again. Tip Boxes Sometimes | « To call attention to + Read the tip and interesting / important pronounce the words details. provided. Glossary No + To define the technical + Use it when you terms used throughout ‘come across a technical the book. term you don’t fully understand. Audio Scripts. | No + To help students + Check the Answer Key & Answer Key study independently. after you've finished the whole exercise. | « Read the Audio Script only if necessary. 13PartA Pronouncing a Foreign LanguageIntro —- Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning In this book, you are going to find a lot more than formulas, techniques and tips on how to “pronounce English better.” You are about to come face to face with new sounds, listening strategies, speech habits and even... attitude! Pronouncing a foreign language can be a challenge that involves a lot more than just knowing where to put your tongue! Historical Facts: Three Views on Pronunciation Teaching Without going into details, let’s talk about the two major views on the teaching of pronunciation. There was once a belief that teaching pronunciation was to eradicate all traces ofa foreign accent. The major focus was on specific sounds and the study of the contrast between the first language and English. The methodology used was based on repetition. The other view holds that teaching pronunciation to adult students is useless because older learners have difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds in a foreign language. This theory also claims that the only objective of learning a foreign language is to communicate, not to pronounce it perfectly, so everything should be OK if your listener is able to understand what you say. The direct consequence of this second view was that the study of pronunciation was nearly abandoned. This is a book written by Brazilians for Brazilians, taking into consideration our specific needs, so we try to use what we consider to be the most effective aspects of the two views. Our own view of pronunciation learning is different from the views above, but it takes both into account. We believe in the importance of good pronunciation, and that it is possible to improve it. Below we view some factors that influence the improvement ofa person’s pronunciation. You will see that you might be favored by some, and not by others — but hard work and motivation will help to even out the equation!Part A / Intro / Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning Influencing Factors Biology It is a fact that adults learning a second language almost always have a “foreign accent,” while children who have been exposed to a second language from an early age almost always attain native-like pronunciation. If you think in terms of stretching, it becomes a little clearer. Imagine you are an adult who has never exercised in your life. If you started stretching today, you would not be as good as an athlete! It is the same with your mouth: it is made up of articulators and muscles that are used in certain movements — those of your native language. In learning a foreign language, you will have to move your articulators and stretch those muscles in a way they have never done before. While this is not impossible, it certainly requires a lot of willpower and dedication. Likewise, the final attainment of pronunciation by adults varies a great deal from one individual to another. And as much as we may try to deny it, this is definitely associated with the amount of practice and dedication... just like stretching!! Are you starting to get the idea behind this book? Let’s stretch!! The Role of the Native Language After a certain age, a person’s sound references are totally connected to the native language. It is almost as if the native language acted as a filter for any foreign sound. If the sound is identical, there is no problem. If the sound is different, it is reinterpreted according to the native sound system. For example, a beginning student who hears the pronunciation of the TH in English will find no corresponding sound in the Brazilian Portuguese system. The student’s sound system will then reinterpret the sound according to the sounds it has and will approximate the TH to whatever sounds closer to it in Portuguese. That would bring the TH closer to /s/, /f/ or /t/, thus resulting in “sink,” “fink” or “tink” instead of think. Likewise, some people might pronounce “day” instead of they. As a result, we could conclude that the native language affects not only the production of sounds but also the Way a student hears them. For that reason, we believe that it is also important to focus on the listening skill when it comes to pronunciation. Learning pronunciation is learning to listen again! Production of the sounds comes 18Part A / Intro J Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning almost as a by-product of good listening. Think about it: would we even speak our native language if we had not listened to it a lot? The Brazilian Student Learning English: The Good News Brazilians, in general, are considered to have good pronunciation in English. Are you surprised? Well, just compare our performance to Asian, German or Italian speakers. It’s usually much easier for us. Why is that so? Some people claim that because Portuguese is not spoken in many countries, we are often exposed to different languages. This exposure would give us some training in picking up other languages. Others will say that Portuguese is considered a rich language in terms of sounds. If we think of Spanish, for example, which is considered so close to Portuguese, we could point out some differences. It doesn’t have the sounds /2i or /3/, which makes Spanish speakers say cassa instead of casa and chanela instead of janela. They also have problems telling apart /b/ and /v/. Spanish has just five vowel sounds: a, 6, i, 6, and u. These are a few examples of problems that we don’t have to worry about. If you believe in that view, the Brazilian Portuguese variety and its richness give us extra ammunition to work with. None of that has been proved, however. It might just be the case that we Brazilians are more adaptable and open to learning and embracing other cultures and peoples. This more culturally oriented perspective would naturally result in embracing and accepting the new sounds of a foreign language like English. Whichever the hypothesis or rationale behind the facts, there is always room for improvement and we, Brazilians, do have a good starting point in terms of pronunciation! Socio-Cultural Aspects Have you ever asked yourself the following questions? + Why am I studying English? Do I like it or do I just do it because I need it? + How do I feel about the people from English speaking countries? Do I identify with their culture and traditions? + Do I like the accent displayed on the audio material my teacher uses? Do I prefer British or American accent? 19Part A / Intro / Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning + Would I like to sound as a native speaker of English? * What does it mean to speak with a native accent? How much of my identity would be lost if I started sounding like an American/British person? As the questions above suggest, there are a number of things to be considered in the process of acquiring the pronunciation of English. Consider the following: if you moved to Porto Alegre or Portugal, would you be willing to change your pronunciation and speak like a Gaucho or a Portuguese person? While you will suffer some influence whether you want it or not, how much your pronunciation will change depends on how much you identify with the language or accent in question. Your accent is a marker of your identity; it is part of who you are. How much of that are you willing to give up? All these questions lead us to the distinction between accent and mispronunciation. An accent is something that everybody, EVERYBODY has, whether they like it or not. It represents your roots and your history. You may have a native or a foreign accent. A native accent can be broken down into sub-accents: British, American, Jamaican, Australian, Scottish, etc. If it is American, it can be from the north, south, east or west. Take your pick. Think of Portuguese, it would be the same. Is your accent southern or northern? If it is southern, is it paulista, catarinense or carioca? How do you pronounce the word “poRta?” Mispronunciation, on the other hand, is the distortion of the pronunciation of a word to an extent that it sounds either like another word or even incomprehensible to the listener. Mispronunciation can cause communication breakdowns. Do you know the meaning of the word “séula?”* Personality Learners that are outgoing, confident and willing to take risks may be more likely to expose themselves to the foreign language and native speakers. This can be true at any level of practice, from speaking in the classroom and trying to imitate the sounds to talking to the native speakers you meet 1. This was a Russian trying to say “solo” in Portuguese. It was out of context, so everybody had a “question-mark” look on their faces: “sOUla?” 20Part A.J Intro / Some Thoughts on Proriunciation Teaching and Learning socially. Remember that personality may play an important part in the ‘way you see yourself pronouncing a foreign language. And by personality, we don’t mean that shy people will necessarily have poor pronunciation, though their shyness might lead them to less exposure. And exposure IS a determining factor for pronunciation improvement. Motivation Motivation plays a vital role in ensuring success in the acquisition of good pronunciation. It does make a difference if you believe pronunciation is a very important part of language. Remember that change comes from within the individual, so in order for you to change your pronunciation, you have to WANT to change it. Don’t be mislead by the popular belief that some people are born with a natural ability to learn languages and if you aren’t one of them, you will never have good pronunciation. Research has shown that motivation is a much stronger factor than natural ability, so never allow yourself to get discouraged. Your profile Before you start your pronunciation studies, it is important for you to set your goals. We have devised a guide to encourage you to think about your needs and wants and help you (and possibly your teacher) meet those goals, WHY | want to improve my pronunciation We have listed some of the possible reasons why you want to improve your pronunciation. Check the ones that apply to you and feel free to add the ones that we have not included. I want to improve my pronunciation because... + I like English very much and think good pronunciation is important. «I need to sound good enough to travel and to participate in informal conversations. «I want to feel comfortable in videoconferences, telephone calls and business meetings. alPart A / Intro / Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning + I give academic lectures or some other sort of formal presentations in English (and I want to be judged by my content, not by the way I speak.) * Lam or want to be an English teacher and I want to attain native-like proficiency. * Others: WHAT | want my pronunciation to be Now is the time for you to start thinking about where you stand now and where you would like to be in the future. Pronunciation is a long-term skill to be acquired patiently. However, it is important to set your goals and go after them. But remember: they are not untouchable! You can always come back to this part of the book and reset your goals, because they might change in the course of this program. Below is a continuum that ranges from heavy accent to native-like pronunciation. Use a pencil and circle the point in the continuum where you think you are now. Then put an X at the point you aim at. Come back to this section at any time and change your goals according to your wants and needs. If you do that, use a different color so you see how your goal also changes as you go. It should be fun! . Sennen heavy accent | slight accent —_ lightly foreign-sounding _ native. (unintelligible) (intelligible) This book provides enough practice to help you go for any of the goals you decide on. Whatever your goal, however, remember that it depends a lot on yourself, your personality, your commitment, and exposure to English. Any more benefits? Studying pronunciation significantly influences the way you understand spoken English, Listening and pronunciation form a two-way street. You need to be able to discriminate sounds in order to produce them right. At the same time, once you learn how to pronounce a word correctly, you’ll also be 22Part A / Intro / Some Thoughts on Pronunciation Teaching and Learning able to recognize it when you hear it. You will find that while your listening will improve, you'll also be more easily understood. Communicating then becomes a lot more comfortable in both directions. Also, the fact that you are more aware of how things are supposed to sound will induce you to self-monitor, or develop that censorship system that will tell you when you mispronounce a word. Self-monitoring is a determining factor for success. No one but yourself will be standing next to you at all times to correct you. A final word While itis obvious that everybody can profit from studying pronunciation, there is an enormous difference in the attainment of good pronunciation from one learner to another. Remember: you may never be able to do a difficult yoga position but some stretching is always better and healthier than no stretching at all!! In language terms, this means you may not yet feel “comfturble” pronouncing a “lotta” the sounds you're “gonna” be exposed to in this book. Nevertheless, you WILL meet people who use those features of English and you need to be able to recognize them and understand them even though YOU don’t “hafta” produce them yourself. Got it? Good luck! 23Unit 1 - English x Portuguese LA VIE EN ROSE - Adao Iturrusgarai In small groups, discuss these questions: 1. Have you ever seen a good English dictionary without indication of pronunciation? What about Portuguese dictionaries? Why (not)? 2. Do you think native speakers of English ever use the dictionary to check pronunciation? 3. Why do you think English students often study phonetic symbols? 4. Take a look at these words: English Portuguese | domicile | sufumigacio preface tartarear administrative indenidade Do you know what they mean? Do you know how to pronounce them? What's your conclusion? 25Part A / Unit 1 / English x Portuguese When you look at the English words domicile, preface and administrative, you know what they mean, but you might not know how to pronounce them. On the other hand, when you look at the Portuguese words sufumigagao, tartarear and indenidade, you probably have no idea what they mean, though you would have no problem pronouncing them. Compare scenarios | and 2: 1. An American studying Portuguese 2. A Brazilian studying English An American who is studying Portuguese can read out loud any word after learning the letter-sound correspondence, even if he/she doesn’t know what the word means. That is, he won’t have much trouble guessing which sound comes out of the combination of letters he/she sees. He might, however, have difficulty pronouncing the sound correctly. For example, he might not know what he has to do in order to pronounce no instead of nau. In scenario 2, on the other hand, things are quite different. Not only will the Brazilian student worry about which sounds come out of certain letter combinations, but many times he/she will also have to know how to articulate some of those sounds which do not exist in Portuguese. For example, when a Brazilian sees the words ski and sky, he/she might wonder: are they pronounced the same? What’s the final sound, /i:/ or /ai/? \\ Exercise 1: Match the columns thyming the words: 1. bough ( )go 2. through ( ) cup 3. although ( ) true 4. bought ( ) cow 5. cough ( )cuff 6. hiccough (old spelling) ( ) off 7. enough ( ) caught 26Part A / Unit 1/ English x Portuguese \\ Write your conclusion: \\ Exercise 2: Write the number of sounds and letters in these two columns, as in the example. Note: diphthong (e.g. /ai/) = 1 sound Portuguese | English word letters sounds | word | letters | sounds bola 4 4 |_ ball 4 | 3 imagine imagine chocolate chocolate | diferente different ai eye fixa ax Livia leave arrastar thought \ What's your conclusion? \ Exercise 3. In Exercise 1, we saw that the same spelling can correspond to seven different sounds. On the other hand, the sound /i:/ as in tea can have nine different spellings. Find an example for each of them: ea ie i ee ei e0 ey e oe Again, this poor relationship between spelling and sound doesn’t happen in Portuguese. We Brazilians may have some trouble spelling out words (s or z// ss or ¢ /j or g), but we hardly have problems with knowing what to pronounce. That’s not quite the same with native speakers of English. They occasionally use the dictionary to check the pronunciation of words in their own language. That’s why English dictionaries show pronunciation and Portuguese dictionaries don’t — it’s not necessary. Portuguese is said to be a phonetic language, meaning that there is a good correspondence between spelling and sound. In English, however, this correspondence does not apply in such a clear-cut fashion. 27Part A / Unit 1 / English x Portuguese Due to this characteristic of the English language, it’s important for foreign students to learn phonetic symbols, as they’ll often have to check pronunciation in the dictionary. Besides, as we will see, English has many more sounds than letters so the phonetic symbols are important to indicate these sounds. 28Unit 2 - Developing Independence: Using the Dictionary to Check Pronunciation Being able to check pronunciation in the dictionary means becoming independent: you can solve your pronunciation questions without having to ask anyone how to pronounce the words. However, you need some training. It’s important to be familiarized with the dictionary you have, and to know the phonetic symbols it uses. a Et Discuss these questions: 1. Have you ever used your dictionary to check pronunciation? Why? Why not? 2. Do all English dictionaries indicate pronunciation the same way? 3. Do you ever use the Pronunciation Key/Table in your dictionary when you check the pronunciation of a word? 4, You were probably in the first grade at school when you started learning how to separate syllables in Portuguese. Do you think the same happens in English? 5. Do you know how to separate syllables in English? Can people separate syllables in English easily? Why (not)? 6. Is it important to know exactly where a syllable starts and where it ends? How frequently do you need to use this knowledge? 7. Indicate the number of syllables the word chocolate has in . English: __ b. Portuguese: ___ = 29